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Informationen zum Autor Frank Furedi is an Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Kent, Canterbury, and Visiting Professor in the Institute of Risk and Disaster Reduction, University College London. Dr Furedi has published widely on controversies relating to issues such as health, parenting children, food and new technology, and his books and articles provide an authoritative yet lively account of key developments in contemporary cultural life that have been widely debated in the media. Klappentext 'Who is in authority?' is a question we can no longer answer with confidence. This history of authority explains why. "A convincing and very knowledgeable study of the notion of authority throughout the history of western social and political thought. Spanning almost 30 centuries of western thought, it is profound, well-argued and an impressive tribute to the wealth of sociological and philosophical scholarship." -Mark Bovens Utrecht University School of Governance Zusammenfassung Why is authority always a problem? People ask continually: 'who is in authority?'! 'who is the authority?'! 'who can speak with authority?' Every disaster or crisis creates a demand for authoritative solutions. This study provides readers with a sociological perspective on one of the most difficult questions facing our world. Inhaltsverzeichnis Introduction: always in question; 1. Thersites and the personification of anti-authority; 2. Socrates and the quest for authority; 3. Rome and the founding of authority; 4. Augustus - a role model for authority through the ages; 5. Medieval authority and the investiture contest; 6. Medieval claim-making and the sociology of tradition; 7. Reformation and the emergence of the problem of order; 8. Hobbes and the problem of order; 9. The rationalisation of authority; 10. The limits of the authority of the rational; 11. Taming public opinion and the quest for authority; 12. Nineteenth-century authority on the defensive; 13. Authority transformed into sociology's cause; 14. The rise of negative theories of authority; 15. By-passing authority through the rationalisation of persuasion; 16. In the shadow of authoritarianism; Conclusion: final thoughts....
